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The Privatization of Policing in Canada and Beyond: Replacing Public Police Officers Private Security Agents Will prove a Hard Task in Canada

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Policing in its traditional form was provided for the citizenry to be protected as mandated by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canada (Carroll, 2004). Traditional policing consists of police officers and departments (as well as sub-departments) sworn to protect human rights, free society from crimes and rehabilitate those who are criminally oriented (demonstrated through crime, crime-related acts, and judicial punishment as a result). Regardless of their long-lasting history in shaping society, traditional policing is facing serious threats of being replaced by private security agencies, which includes private investigators. This essay has one main focus: proving that the upcoming replacement of public policing has been occurring throughout the world but will prove a harder task in Canada. The reason for this assurance comes from the vast research that has been completed to write this essay. As a result, much information has been gathered that helps shapes this focus.

 

This essay argues that yes, there is a speedy increase around the world of governments opting for private security agencies to patrol their cities. Further, yes, there are more private security guards than police at this point, 2:1 exactly, but this does not necessarily mean that the police force is not more adequately prepared to handle the responsibility of public safety than untrained private guards. Lastly, this essay’s voice is one of opposition to the idea of replacing the public policing sector with a private one. Therefore, this essay’s premises will attempt to show that the public police force is more adequately prepared to handle public safety than private security guards. Recommendations will include how the ratio can be decreased and how both industries may unite to work together and maintain the power in the public sector.

 

This paper begins by giving a background depiction of the industries at the center of this discussion. That section will then be followed by a literature review with a keen interest on what the Government of Canada is predicting, encouraging and deciding in regards to private security agents taking over some of the duties of the public police force. This essay will then proceed to enlighten the reader on some of the most popular counter-arguments made about the transference of police duties to the private policing sector. Lastly, this essay will offer recommendations based on the research that may give way to the delaying of such a transfer between the industries. These suggestions are made in order to maintain the traditional police force at work. This writer’s contention about the topic is that public safety can only be assured if public officers are in charge of the protection of our communities.

 

Background Information

 

There are three specific types of policing models in Canada currently at work. First, the public police are made up of “federal, provincial, regional and municipal police officers” that are sworn to protect the land and the people (Carroll, 2004, p. 43). Second, Para Police are those who are not “fully accredited public police officers but who have higher levels of authority than private security officers” (p. 45). They are also sworn-in “as special constable, provincial offences act officers or by-law enforcement officers” (p. 51). Third, the private security industry consists of individuals who are “hired directly by an organization or contracted from a security company” and must meet certain requirements such as licensing (p. 51).  The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that the constitutional rights of people is respected with the provision of police officers sworn to duty and ready for action.

 

Police costs are rising and there is the threat of private security firms taking over. However, this does not seem to be a negative thing if the security firms are willing to work together with the police task force on “less-demanding duties” such as “crime scene security, offender transportation, front desk management” among others (Quan, 2013). The CEO of Commissionaires in Ottawa agreed and would welcome the help with open arms if it were provided. The Public Safety Committee in the House of Commons in Ottawa also noted that the burden on police agencies to handle all duties is almost unbearable and that the financial burden would also be alleviated if private security agencies were recruited to help with these tasks (Quan, 2013).

 

 

Specific Characteristics of Both Groups

 

There is no minimum education requirement to become a private security officer, however, to be a police officer, one needs to have at least their grade 12. Education levels for police officers in Canada, today, mandate further training at a community college in programs such as Police Foundations (Godffrey, 2008, p. 32). According to the Government of Canada, there is a higher education rate for police officers with over 80% of them being high school graduates compared to 66% for private investigators and 53% for security guards (Godffrey, 2008, p. 32).

 

Furthermore, there are more minority representatives in the private security policing industry than its public contender. Approximately 13% of the police officers are women and these represents the lowest between both industries. Interestingly, there has actually been an increase in the police industry since the 70s where the percentage was about 1% for women representation (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 32).  Therefore, although the growth is steady, it is not sufficient to match the extreme representation of minorities by the private security agencies with approximately 21% of women working as private investigators and about 20% as security guards (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 32).

 

Additionally, visible minorities are under-represented in both industries. While there was a higher than average rate of minorities in private security agencies as of 1996, today, it rests short as there are about 10% employed in Canada’s overall labor force, but only 3% are in the police industry and 6% are in the private security agencies (Swol, 1998, p. 7). Interestingly, Aboriginal persons, however, are well represented with about 3% being police officers and 1.7% employed in the entire Canadian labor force (Swol, 1998, p. 7). Lastly, income for police officers is higher than that of security guards with a nearly $20,00 more paid to private investigators and more than double paid to police officers (Swol, 1998, p. 7).

 

Literature Review

 

According to Statistics Canada, it is becoming ever so confusing to define what a police officer is in contrast with a private security officer. Therefore, it has set out to define these social agents as well as their duties and responsibilities. The website notes that “police officers attain higher levels of education” than private security agents, “earn more than private security personnel” and are supported by the Law Commission of Canada (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 15). Police officers are said to be protecting the public while the private protects just that, the private institutions of our society. The “mass private property” that has bee attained throughout the many years of capitalism in Canada has demanded its constant security and this is what private security personnel are defined to accomplish (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 15).

 

According to Table 1 (Appendix A), there is a reported number of approximately 7,000 additional police officers in total from 1991 to 2006 with a 3% increase and a change rate of -4% (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 15). Private security officers increased 15% with approximately 20,000 extra security guards employed in the country from 1991 to 2006, an increase of 18% from 2001 to 2006 and a change rate of 8% from 1991 to 2006 (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 15). There was an increase of almost 20,000 security guards and 2,000 private investigators with a -7% change rate from 2001 to 2006 and 7% from 1991 to 2006 (Geoffrey, 2008, p. 15).

 

According to Text Table 1, we are informed of the number of visible minority groups that are represented in the policing industry (Appendix B). From 1996 to 2006, there was a 50% increase of police officers, 50% increase of private security officers. Apparently there was also a 50% increase for both security guards and private investigators alike. This can be considered unreliable information regardless of its source as it indicates a fallacy.  The probability of having the exact number of growth for a 15-year period is very unlikely. Hence, it can only mean that these numbers may not in fact be valid. According to Chart 2 (Appendix C), there are fewer police officers over the age of 55 across the country. The Private Security industry hires about 26% of people who are over the age of 55. This is inferred as caused by second career options in many provinces and retired personnel from other industries look into cooperating with the social justice departments more in-depth. 

 

Godffrey (2008) concluded that there were “3 private security officers for every 2 police officers” in Canada (p. 16). Further, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which have the “highest crime rates”, had the most police “per capital in 2006” (p. 16). In contrast, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador were reported as having the least amount of police officers per capital the same year (p. 24). Quebec reported to having the “most security guards per capita” among all the provinces in the country, whilst Alberta and Ontario had the “most private investigators per capita” (p. 24). During his final reporting, Godffrey noted that “Aboriginal peoples, women and visible minorities” were among the population of private security officers and police officers that had a rapid increase in 2006 (p. 26).  In 2006, there was an increase in police officers of about 10% across the country.

 

Trends Outside Canada

 

Minnesota’s town of Foley has contracted private security officers to replace local police departments. Director of Research for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, John Firman said that it was the very “first time in our history [that] police are no longer immune from budget cuts” (Petrie & Marohn, 2011). Interestingly, the town has made it so that 59 police departments dissolve in matter of years. In 2003, the police was “disbanded” and the city is free of having to pay each of their police industry an amazing “$24,694 a month” (Petrie & Marohn, 2011). The town reports that they will only be spending about “$16,000 a month” starting in January when the private security forces will be in full effect (Petrie & Marohn, 2011). The city has decided that in the last 65 years it did not think of it, but that it now realizes that there can be more people employed and a lot more money saved by the city to give to their local communities in need.

 

In 2015, the police in Scotland are closing shop. The Metropolitan Police Service runs out and will be replaced by cheaper contractors: private security agents. Because the decision is still to be made by the Chairman in the House of Commons in Scotland, there has been a great amount of debate over the replacement of their local police enforcement. Mr. Sheerman, Former chairman of the House of Commons said that the country should not be treated as “some Disneyland theme park by the Thames” and that they ought not to allow “over-commercialization” to take over the historic culture (Carlin, 2013). The main complaint is that the police officers are not visible at all times. This is disturbing when out of 500 officers hired for any particular event, such as the Olympics, only 33 of them turn out (Carlin, 2013). The inability to fulfill their requirements is what is pressing to have a change in the way policing is carried out in Scotland.

 

According to an article by Brennan, R. (2013), the liberal government has “quietly amended legislation allowing private security guards to work alongside the OPP at the 2015 Pan Am Games” (Brennan, 2013). Reportedly, after what happened at the G20 Summit, there was an increased fear over what could happen if the needed guard force was not enough. Therefore, the amendment was made to the Private Security and Investigative Services Act of 1939 to allow for private security guards to work with police officers. This is certainly new and very much like what is happening all around the world. As much as the government assures that it is not with the purpose of completing replacing the police force, it can be inferred that it will not be long from now when the private security guards will have the same authority as police officers all over the country (Brennan, 2013).                         

 

Counter-Argument

 

            According to Carroll (2004), police officers should not be replaced in their entirety. Their influence and presence is still needed within our society and beyond, therefore, the author argues that replacing “public police officers” would be unreasonable and dangerous. Therefore, he recommends that they be, instead, incorporated into the policing industry in order to help “support that role at the first response level” (2004). In other words, private security officers should not completely integrate with-p-in society as the primary police officers to protect rights and freedom. They should supplement the current force and help in the areas most needed such as administrative duties and foot patrol.  If this were to occur, integration more so than a replacement, the author is sure that there will be less crime, accurate predictability of crime and adequate rehabilitation techniques to help communities.

 

            Furthermore, Abby Deshman, Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Associations, noted that there have been a probable of almost 2000 “complaints against private security guards or companies…registered over the past five years” (CBC News, 2013). He believes that there should be even more complaints if the figures were perfectly accurate. Deshman noted that the cut to police costs can be alleviated by using private agencies and on-site security guards, however, that the policing industry governed by the country ought not to be replaced in its entirety. He “hopes the security industry can help” because there are some issues happening with the public police force in terms of unsustainability and funding cuts (CBC News, 2013).

 

            There are no reasons to believe that this could actually be a permanent change other than it is already happening all around the world. However, in Canada, there is an opposition to the idea. Its opponents contend that the public police have innate authority over the population as a matter of respect and overall “accountability” (Mthethwa, 2012, p. 61). The public knows that the public police force will aid them and will help prevent crimes because that is their one and only duty. Private policing has specific markets and this is what ought to be targeted, not the entire city, per se. The police “have special powers that are exercised in the context of public” safety (Mthethwa, 2012, p. 61). However, private security agents have no power over the communities, people and/or any other entity. They form part of the pay-for-service industry and are not opt for security the public spheres. To these agents, the private sector is the one and only sector they should be focusing on, according to Mthethwa (2012) (p. 61).

 

Recommendations

 

To decrease the ration of private security guards and public police officers, there is a need to continue funding the police foundations in our country and rely heavily upon this funding to exalt respect, praise and commitment to traditional policing. The industries can certainly unite, however, the burden for protection must lay upon the public, governed and sworn police officers. To accomplish this, there needs to be a strengthening between police and society, a commitment on the part of the public police task force to adequately and thoroughly serve the public and a legislature mandate that denies the right of any private structure to impede with the functions of that which is public such as the public police force.

 

 

According to Carroll (2004), there is a need for security guards to complete community college programs, and become more educated in the field of policing to the point where they match public police officers. The “professionalization” of private security guards will help in the integration of both industries and in the elimination of replacing the traditional task force all together (p. 42). The idea of matching skills between these two parties will help in protecting citizens more thoroughly, will aid in current administrative police load and will turn out to be advantageous for all working with the task force and living in the communities alike.

 

According to Ross McLeod, owner of the Ontario-based security company Intelligarde explained that by integration the police force into a not-for-profit margin, there is still the possibility of being able to provide security from trained and educated public police officers. The idea of replacing it with private security guards seems at odd to him because it will only call for errors, discrepancies, and insufficient protection for the public. Public safety cannot be left up to individuals on contracts; government authorities must manage public safety otherwise chaos will be incurred onto the population and society in general (CBC News, 2013).

 

Conclusion

 

This essay, thus far, showed that the private sector is threatening the public one with a take-over. There is a replacement of authority happening around the world that entails the replacement of public duty officers with private, uneducated and under qualified security guards. This essay also argued that there is a worldwide recurrence of this phenomenon where authority is being transferred to the private sector and, as noted, the police foundation is no exception to this rule and neither is Canada. However, there is a time period in which the decisions are being made which allows for the public to express their concerns. This essay has done just that. The concern is for the public’s safety under the hands of a private industry of policing. This essay has also been able to show that statistically, there is an increase in private security guards even in Canada, which shows a pattern leading towards complete power over the country by these private structures. Furthermore, it has been noted that the country, Canada, is resistant to this change and has allotted only small, non-crucial duties to these private agencies. Nevertheless, the danger is there and the last section of this essay offered some recommendation to decrease the ratio of 2 to 1 and to have the continued strengthening of our public police force task and not its contender, the private sector.